Text Preview
Spain’s 2026 snap general election campaign is underway, and the country’s right-leaning parties are finalizing an electoral pact that could inspire further cooperation between national populists and the center-right across Europe.
The National Pulse brings you news that matters from around the world. If you value the work of Raheem J. Kassam and his team, please JOIN THE NATIONAL PULSE or MAKE A DONATION today.
Election Background.
Earlier this month, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a snap election. This followed the Socialist government’s defeat in the legislature over emergency measures intended to address Spain’s worsening housing crisis, which were voted down by the center-right People’s Party (PP), the national populist Vox party, and Junts, a party advocating Catalan independence. Along with Sumar, a far-left electoral alliance, Junts was a critical supplier of votes to Sánchez’s left-wing Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), which lacks an outright legislative majority.
The decision to call a snap election came after mounting pressure on Sánchez, including a slew of corruption scandals and allegations affecting prominent figures in his government and domestic and international criticism of his handling of an illegal immigrant amnesty and migrant border influx into Ceuta, a Spanish exclave on the coast of North Africa, bordering Morocco.
However, while PP leads in the polls, much of the Spanish right is worried about repeating the outcome of the 2023 general election, in which PP secured more seats than PSOE, but no party won an outright majority and Sánchez struck a governing agreement with various smaller far-left and regionalist parties. PSOE gave significant policy concessions in exchange for parliamentary support, thereby allowing Sánchez to become Prime Minister despite PSOE not being the largest party.
The Agreement.
at the original publisher
Preview excerpt — approximately 282 words shown. The full piece is at the link above.
Selected for Rip's readers. Article text and links belong to the original publisher.